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Gov. Perdue labeled 'racially divisive'

Posted: Wednesday, October 01, 2003

By Dick PettysAssociated Press

ATLANTA - A black lawmaker labeled Gov. Sonny Perdue the most racially divisive governor since Lester Maddox on Tuesday, citing Perdue's removal of black department heads, his stand on the state flag and a proposal to tie HOPE scholarships to SAT scores.

Sen. Vincent Fort, D-Atlanta, said Perdue's record on issues of concern to black lawmakers shows the new Republican governor ''does not believe that Georgia is a place for all people.''

Rep. Tyrone Brooks, D-Atlanta, who joined Fort at a Capitol news conference, said Perdue is turning the clock back on racial gains.

''We need to clean out the governor's office,'' said a third participant, Rep. Douglas Dean, D-Atlanta. ''This governor has a bad record of serving the African-American community.''

Dan McLagan, a spokesman for the governor, called the attacks ''weak, pathetic mudslinging.''

''This isn't about race, it's about a bunch of Democrats that want their pork and their chairmanships back. It's stooping to the lowest level of politics,'' McLagan said.

Opening the news conference by comparing Perdue to Maddox, Fort said the new governor ousted every major department head who was a minority except one, and he worked to weaken a consumer protection law that had been designed in part to protect minorities from predatory lending practices.

His support for changing the state flag during his campaign last year played on racial tensions, Fort said.

''Governor Perdue ran a racist campaign. I'm not saying that he is a racist. Only he knows what is in his heart. But we believe that he ran a racist campaign; that he took advantage of racial divisions in order to become governor.''

Dean said an idea Perdue floated recently to tie HOPE scholarships to SAT scores is an ''absolutely shameful'' proposal that would hit black students hardest. He suggested that shows Perdue favors wealthy, white families.

''When we were notified that the (HOPE) program was in trouble, the governor said we ought to support those programs that deal with kids who come to college ready. We know what the governor was saying - that we ought to cater to the rich, we ought to cater to the white community,'' he said.

The three said they may take their litany of complaints on the road to other cities.

''This story has to be told beyond Atlanta,'' said Brooks. ''We've got to travel this state ... to educate Georgians as to what's going on here with our state. We're moving backwards not forwards.''